Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Struggles and Maturity

"2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4

If there were a list of "over-used" Bible verses, this would be on it, I know. But, honestly, can Scripture really be overused (when in the right context!)?

We are all faced with trials. Some big, and some little. I guess I've always known that and recognize that this is just a "part of life".

But these verses hit me hard. What we choose to do with our struggles is completely up to us. We know that God is faithful within our struggles. But we always have the choice to make these struggles worth something. It's not enough to simply say that God will help us through. He will, but we still have a choice. A choice to mature and persevere, or to let the struggle go by and no change us.

How do I react to my struggles? The big ones and the little ones. Who do I call on when I have an issue? Is there maturity and love in my words, actions, and reactions? Do I choose to "lack nothing", or do I get caught up in my judgements and feelings?